Broome county plans to withdraw from Aramark contract, find new provider

Broome County plans to withdraw its contract with Aramark Corp. and find a new food service provider after concerns about the quality of service and food the company is providing to the Willow Point Nursing Home.

Maggie Gilroy / Staff video

Broome County plans to withdraw its contract with Aramark Corp. and find a new food service provider after concerns were raised about the quality of service and food at the Willow Point Nursing Home, Executive Jason Garnar announced Wednesday.

According to the county's contract with Aramark, either party can get out of the contract with 18 months notice unless both sides agree to a shorter window of time. Garnar said the county has not yet decided if they will maintain the contract for the full 18 months.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announces Broom County will withdraw from its contract with ...more

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announces Broom County will withdraw from its contract with Aramark.

Maggie Gilroy / Staff photo

"This is not a good contract that we have here," Garnar said during a press conference Wednesday. "We need a new contract with a different provider."

The Press & Sun-Bulletin/pressconnects.com submitted a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request Monday for the contract and has not yet received the documents.

"We want to be able to hold whoever is providing food service accountable," Garnar said Wednesday. "It's very different under the current contract to do that."

Garnar said he believes Aramark has breached their contract, which will end in December of 2020 if it continues for the full 18 months.

I will be speaking with other media outlets this afternoon about my plans to disengage from this contract and what actions I’m taking to find a new provider.

"I have informed Aramark representatives of my intent to disengage from this contract," Garnar said during a press conference Wednesday. "We can't move forward with this contract."

Garnar said he will send official notice to Aramark of the termination of the contract this week. The county will pay Aramark for the entirety of the contract, whether that is 18 months or less.

Administrators at Aramark agreed to honor the contract in the short-term and increase the quality of the food service, Garnar said.

Garnar plans to meet with Aramark again next week.

Aramark also provides food service to Meals on Wheels, Broome County's senior citizen center and the Broome County Jail. Garnar said the officials for all three departments are on-board with the decision to find a new vendor.

"This time this will be done right," Garnar said. "With a strong RFP and a strong contract, we we can hold whoever is providing the service accountable."

In an interview Wednesday, Reynolds, R-District 5 said the Broome County legislature was not updated about the situation until late January.

“Obviously we’re all disappointed in the service that’s being provided by Aramark, and we want to make sure that that’s being taken care of. At this point, it’s unclear how that’s going to take place," he said. "They’re supposed to meet with the staff. I think this is the beginning of this process. I think, in that sense, it’s premature."

I’ve put Aramark on notice. The way the contract is written, either party can get out with 18 months notice. That timeframe can be shortened if both parties agree.

"We have to look at all aspects of this, and whether or not they lived up to the commitment in their agreement. We do have to look and see whether there was some form of breach of contract,” Reynolds said.

On Saturday, the Press & Sun-Bulletin/pressconnects.com reported on a Jan. 26 letter sent by Garnar and County Legislature Chairman Dan J. Reynolds, R-District 5, to regional managers and national executives of Aramark.

According to the letter, meals arrive late and meal temperatures are outside the federally mandated range. Although it's contractually obligated to do so, Aramark doesn't provide alternate meals and sides, requiring Willow Point staff to call for meals. Aramark then charges for those meals, despite the fact they're supposed to be offered at no additional cost.

"Throughout the course of, really going into the fall, it’s gotten to the point where it’s become unacceptable," Garnar Monday said of the food service.

In a statement, Aramark representative Chris Collom said: "We share the county's dissatisfaction with the performance at Willow Point and are committed to working together to improve and deliver high quality service like we strive to do for all our customers. We are taking action with the county to address the issues and have already made investments to correct the operations and infrastructure."

On Wednesday, Garnar said LaClair, approached him in January to suggest the county disengage from the contract.

Before 2015, the county was responsible for food preparation and service at Willow Point, through its Central Kitchen department. The department also served the jail and the Office for Aging, which Aramark now serves.

From Tuesday's meeting- Aramark reps. told me that they are committed to addressing the problems at Willow Point however long they continue to remain in this contract.

In July of 2015, the county began looking for outside vendors. Aramark was the only company to submit a complete bid, and was approved as the vendor by a 12-1 vote in November 2015.

The sole vote against it came from then Democratic Minority Leader Kim Myers, D-District 4. The only other Democrat serving on the legislature at the time, Mark Whalen, D-District 15, was absent from the vote.

Garnar, who had stepped down from the legislature the month before the vote, and other Democrats, had vocally opposed the legislation, arguing it would prevent the county from having control over the quality of food and service.

On Wednesday, Garnar said he did not know that an RFP was put out for a food service provider until it was presented to the legislature.

"I don't know if they told other legislators," he said Wednesday. "I didn't hear anything about it until it was announced that they were going to go and privatize central foods."

Aramark was the only provider who responded to the RFP in 2015.

"It's clear that a better job could have been done with the RFPs, how the RFP was constructed," Garnar said, suggesting that some vendors were deterred by the fact that they had to provide food for Meals on Wheels, Broome County's senior citizen center and the Broome County Jail.

But the county moved forward with the deal, saying it wanted to get out of the food preparation business, and that contracting with Aramark would save the county $1.6 million.

As part of its contract with the county, Aramark agreed to pay for significant upgrades to the kitchens in Willow Point, a cost Garnar acknowledged the county would have to repay if it withdrew from the contract.

While the option to de-privatize food service is "on the table," Garnar said the county is not in the financial position to take this on.

"As everybody knows, the county doesn't really have any money," he said. "We are under a budget for this year. We're very fiscally stressed, so I have to keep that in mind as well. It's a tough situation to be in."

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